You may once have walked past the five (!!) storefronts at 232 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy without looking twice. Not anymore. Chela Edmunds has just opened her new Takeawei Shop, with a beautiful fresh fit-out and shelf upon shelf of her much-loved ceramics.
The Takeawei range, spanning mugs, planters and ‘boobs’ (vases), is accompanied in-store by new ceramic candles, hand-poured by Pink Moon Botanical, as well as upcycled kimono garments from Good Sport clothing. From her new base, Chela will also offer an extended range of her custom-glazed tableware and exclusive ceramic artworks.
In 2017, the Torquay-based creative was making and teaching out of her Ashmore Arts space on the Surf Coast, at the same time as co-running Guild of Objects in Melbourne. This year, Guild of Objects changed hands and Chela moved into a larger studio, where she continued to teach wheel workshops, whilst expanding her own ceramics collection. Always entrepreneurial, Chela soon felt the need to create a more central retail offering, where people could really explore her tactile ceramics first hand.
‘I also needed to separate the studio and making from the retail, emails, and online orders, because the workload gets pretty heavy – sometimes it’s hard to just put my head down and make,’ explains Chela. ‘The Takeawei Shop is staffed with knowledgeable ceramicists, and is a dedicated retail space to display my complete body of work.’
Unique, colourful, and functional objects reign supreme at Takeawei Shop. Chela’s handcrafted creations pop against gallery-esque white walls, the furniture is a mix of handmade (including by Raphael Buttonshaw), secondhand (eBay and thrift-shop treasures), new and Ikea, while the epic curtain made by Brietta from Good Sport is a stand-out. ‘It’s like a fabric stained glass window, pieced together using delicate kimono linings, showing the stitch work, craftsmanship and it’s previous life,’ beams Chela.
Stop by Takeawei Shop by for an opening event this Thursday, or pop in anytime during trading hours.
Takeawei Shop
5/232 Brunswick Street
Fitzroy, Victoria
Tuesday to Saturday,11am-6pm
Sunday, 11am-4pm
Opening event
Thursday 22nd November, 5pm-7pm
